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An Italian magazine claims that Palestinian arch-terrorist Yasser Arafat made a secret deal not to attack Italian citizens and accepted bribes from the Italy’s leader.

By: Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

In an exclusive report Sunday, the Italian L’espresso magazine revealed new information about the cordial relationship between the PLO terror organization and the Italian authorities, as gleaned from the secret diaries of the PLO’s founder and first Palestinian Authority president, Yasser Arafat.

The 19 volumes of personal writing cover the years between 1985 and 2004, the year Arafat died in a French hospital. They were given to a French foundation on condition that the content of the diaries would be used only as “study documents,” and would not provide content for books or films.

The diaries detail Arafat’s relationships with many nations’ leaders, including such late presidents as Fidel Castro (Cuba), Saddam Hussein (Iraq), and Shimon Peres (Israel). However, the weekly published translated excerpts dealt with high-up officials in the Italian government, including former prime ministers Bettino Craxi and Silvio Berlusconi, and foreign minister Giulio Andreotti.

In particular, the L’espresso feature brought to light negotiations between Arafat and the Italian government (headed by Craxi and Andreotti) in 1985, during the hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship off the Egyptian shore by four Palestinian terrorists. The terrorists had planned to travel on the ship to Israel to carry out an attack but were accidentally discovered and took over the ship instead, murdering a Jewish-American hostage, Leon Klinghoffer, during the incident.

Intelligence was provided stating that the mastermind behind the group was PLO official Muhammad “Abu” Abbas, but when Italy had the chance to arrest and try him soon after the crisis was over – or extradite him to the US to stand trial for Klinghoffer’s murder – the diaries say that Andreotti allowed Abbas to escape justice. Craxi himself publicly supported the position that there was not enough evidence to allow for Abbas’ extradition.

It had long been rumored that an understanding had been in place between Italy and the PLO since 1973, after a PLO attack on an airport in Rome. The PLO would not target Italians in exchange for Italian acquiescence to its objectives.

L’espresso reported that in his diaries, Arafat warmly described Italy as “a Palestinian shore of the Mediterranean.”

The diaries also revealed how Arafat helped Silvio Berlusconi, a three-time prime minister who was a member of Italy’s parliament in 1998 when he was put on trial for illegally funding the Italian Socialist Party.

In return for a handsome gift, Arafat wrote, he confirmed Berlusconi’s false statement to prosecutors that the 10 billion lire which were at the center of the trial were not for the party but for the PLO to support the Palestinian cause.

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Albert Reingewirtz • 2 days ago
The list of anti- Semitic states is growing and Islamic refugees had not yet started invading them. The mix is starting to be explosive. Jews! Time to leave bella Italia, the ugly.

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cammo99 Albert Reingewirtz • a day ago
I am not disputing the Italians are not any more or less antisemitic than any other country. I would observe that the Italian government put a higher value on Italian lives versus Jewish lives from any other country and even their own.
Following the stories about Poland's disgraceful actions this past week it still seems necessary for world powers to have a group they can blame for their own failings, sell out for their own good, and when necessary and profitable loot.
What the Poles failed to acknowledge was two facts When they claim 1.9 million Poles died in death camps too; are they including Jewish Poles or do they still exclude Jews?
Secondly, why don't they wish to admit that the underlying cause for all Holocaust was the intent of the Nazis was to liquidate the Jews across Europe in which they almost succeeded. No other group suffered the per capital percentage murder of their population as did Jews who are never identified as Italians, Poles, Germans etc.,. They are still and only Jews. It raises or begs the question if an Italian or Frenchman is a Jew and is murdered by an Islamist terrorist disguised as a revolutionary, will they print an Italian or Frenchman was murdered or it was a Jew? It certainly is easier to dissociate the problem as an Italian or French problem if its those damn Jews. That's what antisemitism is in the 21st Century.

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Sanjosemike cammo99 • a day ago
While I don’t disagree with your obviously true points about Jewish suffering during WWII, it should be mentioned that more Russians lost their lives during WWII than any other group.

Sanjosemike (no longer in CA)

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RonCo215 Sanjosemike • a day ago
Stupid comment since, if you looked at the numbers in percentages, you will see the Jews died far in excess to ethnic Russians!! You also ignore the fact that Russians also killed their Jews!

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Ron Gonshorowski RonCo215 • a day ago
Don’t forget that the Grand Mufti also killed Jews in what was then called just Palestine.
He was in league with Hitler.

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Arline Mathews Ron Gonshorowski • a day ago
Yes. the Arab states offered to join with the Nazi's. Do you suppose that the world has forgotten? In truth the Arabs don't want any part of Democracy.

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evangeline golding Arline Mathews • a day ago
I think the world finds it convenient to ignore the fact that the arabs were on the side of the nazi's.
They can quite easily live with the fact that the majority of arab countries want us and Israel destroyed, but it wouldn't sit so well with the narrative if it were made obvious to all that they were in league with the nazi's.
It certainly wasn't something I was taught in school, and that was long before the education system was as dismal as it is now.

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Efram Paul Ron Gonshorowski • a day ago
And his guest through most of the war.

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Stanley RonCo215 • a day ago
They killed Jews in pogroms prior to WWII. My grandmother's brother was beheaded by a Cossack during a pogrom. None of my grandparents ever spoke of the old country. Europe was and still is anti-semitic.

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Arline Mathews Stanley • a day ago
Stanley right you are. Almost every weekend a pogrom took place with town drunkards coming to murder Jews and rape the women. Again your right, I have never heard the refugees from Europe talk about the hardships they endured over there, even those who had been sent to slave labor and concentration camps. Certainly they never talk of our loved ones like my great grandmother and her children and grandchildren. All vanished. My Cousin Brauna worked for the U.N. after WW2. Her job was to find Jewish refugees in Europe after the holocaust. There were few left and they went to either the U.S. or Israel. Nobody in my own family could be found even under the auspices of the U.N. Vanished. Gone forever.

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Basha Kline Stanley • a day ago
russia has always been antisemitic - massive displays of wickedness in their pogroms - scratch anyone of these citizens of these countries and you will find an antisemite underneath - no matter what european country you choose.

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Paul Horsfield Basha Kline • a day ago
Really? If all Europeans are antisemites as you claim, how do you explain people like myself and the many others who stand behind Israel and the Jewish people everywhere else in the world. While there are antisemites in every country, making ridiculous sweeping statements like yours only feeds their narrative when they claim that Jews hate everyone who isn't Jewish.

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PJ Paul Horsfield • a day ago
Paul, firstly, thank you for supporting Israel.
Secondly, when a large part of a country is anti-semitic, and the rest are quiet about it, the whole country gets tarnished with that reputation.
It is thus important that more people stand up like you do - work to be done...

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Paul Horsfield PJ • 13 hours ago
Thank you for your comment, I would however, take issue with anyone saying that a large part of the British population is anti-semitic, the majority of Brits really don't care what background, religion, colour or race anyone is, as long as they don't enforce their views on them and don't try and alter our countries heritage and that they assimilate to the way we do things, unlike a particular group of people who also originate from the Middle East.

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HBS1 Paul Horsfield • 18 hours ago
Obviously not all Europeans are anti-semites. I would, however, point out that you use support of Israel as an indicator, and support of Israel in Western Europe is very weak. Young French and Germans are not Jew haters, but the anti-Israel bias of most Western European media creates a serious problem for Jews. Moreover surveys of Spain, Greece, the Scandinavian countries (particularly Norway) reveal a growing dislike of Jews.

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Paul Horsfield HBS1 • 13 hours ago
I've seen part of the results you mention, although like a lot of these surveys they don't distinguish between the people who have lived in the country for generations and those who have recently arrived due to the EU's need to interfere with other countries problems.

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RonCo215 Paul Horsfield • 6 hours ago
Actually, people like you are the exception and have always been the exception in Jew hating Europe for centuries! I never heard of your narrative stating Jews hate everybody who isn't Jewish, and even if it was true, stating facts about the norm that was and is Jew hating Europe should be said no matter who gets mad!! Jew oppression and violence against European Jews is a fact and what is ridiculous is someone saying it is ridiculous!!

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Ezra Paul Horsfield • 15 hours ago
Paul, thank you for your comment. The problem is that while there are some in Europe who wring their hands and complain about the unfairness that Jews are being murdered, the great majority are indifferent or do the murdering. This is not a one time event I speaking of, this is the history of Europe since the 5th century vis a vis Jews.

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Paul Horsfield Ezra • 13 hours ago
There is the same problem the world over not just in Europe, the US, Canada, Australia and NZ seem to have a similar issue when it comes to hand wringing and inaction. The same sort of events occurred in the Middle East prior to them happening in Europe so it's a bit trite to keep harping back to a time that none of us were alive or had any control over.

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STEVE Stanley • a day ago
The Russians, Poles all went after Jews because of the hate instilled by the church. Its like the muslims now who blame the Jews because its written in the holy garbage book the coo coo ran, since the cant use logic in their religion they use illogic, say it enough and people believe it. Its like the Black Plaque, the Jews who wash hands after going to the bathroom, eat, sneeze, whatever, was sick less than non Jews, some who some act like animals who never was hands and get sick when eating with dirty hands. Its like getting sick with the flu now if you dont watch yourself .Thats the problem Stanley, a non Jew will blame Jews for anything and everything....

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Stanley STEVE • a day ago
Hi Steve, Thanks for the insight. But there is more. The Jews were smarter and were able to have businesses in the towns (also because they couldn't own land or be in trade). The Jews succeeded with these obstacles and there was a jealousy. They believed in a zero sum game. That means that if the Jews were selling their goods and doing well, then the Jews were stealing. The reality if the Jews didn't sell their goods, they farm produce would rot and the farmers would only be able to eat for a few months. The history of the Jews is: some country lets them in, the country does well. The country kicks out the Jews and the country does $h!t.

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PJ Stanley • a day ago
And don't forget that more Jews were killed during the Crusades than Christians or Muslims.

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Arline Mathews RonCo215 • a day ago
Europeans were noteworthy because of their many prejudices against Jews. Great Britain blamed the Jews for the plague that swept Europe. whenever germs invaded causing outbreaks of flu or any other disease, guess who got blamed?

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Marvin Kaleky Arline Mathews • a day ago
Slight adjustment to your statement. The percentage of Jews that got the plague was far lower than the general population. Yes, the Jews were blamed, but the Jews washed their hands and recited the 'motzi' prior to eating. So, their hands were clean, thus lower incidence of plague.

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Melvin Menuck RonCo215 • a day ago
Right. I should have read your reply 1st before I responded

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HBS1 RonCo215 • 18 hours ago
While I agree that total casualties are different than those in concentration camps, I find your use of "stupid comment" objectionable. Statistics need context and clarification.

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RonCo215 HBS1 • 7 hours ago
I said stupid,because you knew that the average person reading your comment would miss the obvious statistical trickery you purposely used to downplay the enormity of the destruction of world Jewry! Otherwise, one would have no reason to have thrown in your false comparison into the discussion! Not sure what the first line of your new comment even means!!

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Arline Mathews Sanjosemike • a day ago
To Sanjosemike, The issue is obfuscated by those who make comparisons to entire countries being bombed during war time to the intentional murder of Jews on an individual basis. Jews were not murdered because of wartime, instead they were murdered for having been born into a family that practiced their ancient religion of believing in one God only. Jews have never accepted that God had a son. Whether right or wrong they do not deserve to be killed for that.
Russians who died in the war died because of armies fighting one another, on land sea, and air.

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ajfx1 Arline Mathews • a day ago
Jews are the world’s chosen people as scapegoats for the rest of the world’s corruption.

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Efram Paul Arline Mathews • a day ago
In fact, Hitler diverted so many supplies from the front to the gas chambers, they might have won the war if they had not done this.

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RonCo215 Efram Paul • 7 hours ago
More than just supplies, since as a percentage of the population, more German Jews fought for Germany in WW1than did ethnic Germans! Germany, without warring on the Jews could have easily won the war!

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Albert Reingewirtz Sanjosemike • a day ago
This is such a old tired, idiotic argument! Russians died fighting heroically the Nazis. It had nothing to do with Jew specifically targeting for extermination. Got that? Planed extermination of the Jewish nation almost succeed. Fully one third of our nation went up in smoke including my parents and many relatives just for being Jewish. Now you know the truth. Go away!

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Rami Sanjosemike • a day ago
In total some 60 million people of many nationalities were killed during that Damned war.
Just because the UK and many other European countries were ignoring the danger of the military build up by Hitler. They were afraid a war to stop Hitler would be too costly.
Today they are making the same mistakes.

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Efram Paul Rami • a day ago
And, of course, they are making the same mistake with radical Islam. How many Iranian nukes must destroy how many places before the Jew haters finally take note? Of course, these same left-wing fascists also blame the Jews for radical Islam in the first place. Professional scapegoats is right.

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jongnagy Sanjosemike • a day ago
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Idiot!

Were Russians murdered in the Polish-Nazi Death Camps?

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STEVE Sanjosemike • a day ago
Understand the Russians lost millions because the germans were a crazy group who took the Russians as a partner than stabbed them in the back. The germans goal was to wipe out the Jews thats why the camps were open and the gas chambers were open and that's why almost 80% of Jews died in Europe. Did 80% of the Russians die in World War II???

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Efxpert Sanjosemike • a day ago
Not in the per capita relation to the Jews. More thankful than 50%of the Jews were killed world wide!!!

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Efxpert Efxpert • a day ago
Sorry, not thankful, auto spelling check error I missed. Should have been than.

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fof9l Efxpert • a day ago
Wretched iPhones !

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cammo99 Sanjosemike • a day ago
In this conversation your point about the Soviets casualties are worth mentioning, some may think you are just being moot. I don't. But I would say its an interesting point if you determine that the Nazis doctrine was driven not simply by conquest and looting inferior races but they designed their killing machine and ideology to get all, all of the Jews and into that vortex the rest follow. As a mass murdering genocidal maniac Hitler was a genius; if you can use antisemitism to promote mass murder in an elite division of your government and military with an indifferent public desensitized by antisemitism and against the mass killing of a global war who can;t you kill? What does it matter, in for a penny in for a pound.

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naftali216 Sanjosemike • a day ago
some of those were Jews!

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cammo99 Sanjosemike • a day ago
You are talking about raw numbers my point is in the Soviet's 1937 census there were 170 million Russian peoples. Even if we take a higher number not the official 20 million the post what Soviets posted but 25 million what % is that? Roughly 15%? The Jewish population was 16 million total Europe, and the Soviet union 33 % were killed by acts of genocide. Half of the Soviet total were combatants they died directly as a consequence of war. Ssome of the remaining civilians were killed by the Soviets . The word Holocaust is derived from the Hebrew meaning the ash left on the altar. The Nazis defined early on their objective to eradicate the Jews. If there had not been widespread antisemitism their policies may never have gotten the traction they did through the nations they conquered and the assistance of willing collaborators. World War itself was an opportunity by which the Nazis could initiate genocide.

The other question as with the Poles is how many Jews are counted as Polish Holocaust victims . If 1.9 million Poles died because they were collateral damage in the Holocaust how many of those Poles were Jews? Are 1.3 million Polish Jews counted as Jews or Poles, because even today the the Poles make the distinction which helps but does not entirely prove my point. How many of the Jews that died were Soviet citizens counted as Soviets and or as Jews certainly not as many.

I had a dear friend a woman who survived a German hard labor camp only to be bombed by the Soviets and then brought to the USA by an emergency air lift because Stalin killed many of his citizens who were captured and contaminated by the west. Stalin by conservative count killed nearly 3 million of his own citizens. I personally believe that is grossly underestimated.

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Ezra Sanjosemike • 16 hours ago
You're making a great generalization. Millions of Russians died due to the Germans, no doubt, but equally due to Stalin's murdering policies where tanks were more valuable than Russian lives. Case in point, the Russian army herded civilian Russians to walk through land mines ahead of tanks in order to save the tanks.

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Efram Paul Sanjosemike • a day ago
True, but they were military casualties for the most part, not victims of deliberate genocide. Stalin had purged the army just a couple of years earlier, and it is a wonder that any of them survived.